Ellen Page to Star in Indie Iraq War Drama "Lioness"The script tells of the true story of Lance Corporal Leslie Martz, a U.S. Marine who was stationed in Iraq.by Borys Kit - 7/7/2015 3:00pm PDT

Ellen Page is attached to star in Lioness, an indie drama being developed and packaged by James Dahl, one of the producers of James Ponsoldt’s upcoming The End of the Tour.

Lioness tells the true story of Lance Corporal Leslie Martz, a U.S. Marine who was stationed in Haditha, Iraq.

Martz was sent to Afghanistan as a leader of a Female Engagement Team and tasked with the dual mandate of gaining the trust of Afghan women by equipping them with necessary skills for independence but also secretly extracting information from them about their Taliban husbands.

The soldier, who now lives in San Diego, was waging a personal war on several fronts. She was hiding the fact that was she was a gay woman in the military and on top of that found herself torn between the desire to prove herself and her superiors and the allegiance she developed toward the women and children whose strength and courage she grew to admire

Rosalind Ross, one of the writers of the El Rey Network’s action series Matador, penned the script. She will also act as a producer.

No director is on attached at this stage.

Dahl is producing via his shingle, Modern Man Films. His End of the Tour, starring Jesse Eisenberg and Jason Segal, opens July 31 from A24.

Page will next be seen in Freeheld, the same sex civil rights drama opposite Julianne Moore and Michael Shannon, which Lionsgate will release on October 2. She is currently filming the indie drama Tallulah with Allison Janney.

Page is repped by WME, Vie Entertainment and Morris Yorn. Ross is repped by ICM Partners and Heroes and Villains Entertainment.

This sounds amazing, on paper at least. I'm so happy for Ellen that she gets to star in this film. The character sounds so complex, having to deal with battles on professional, political and personal fronts. Looking forward to hearing more news about its development. YAY for Ellen!